Las Vegas Restaurants Archives - Taste With The Eyes

Michael Mina Las Vegas and The Black Cod

Michael Mina Bellagio Las Vegas

Michael Mina Restaurant
Bellagio, Las Vegas
and
The Black Cod with Black Truffle Dashi

Nestled within the luxurious Bellagio resort in Las Vegas, the Michael Mina restaurant offers an exquisite dining experience that reflects the Chef’s commitment to culinary innovation and top-notch service. Boasting an upscale atmosphere, the restaurant’s interior design is chic and contemporary, creating a stylish backdrop for a most memorable meal.

Chef Mina is renowned for his modern take on American cuisine. He often combines classic flavors with a fresh perspective, resulting in dishes that are both sophisticated and approachable.

Michael Mina Las Vegas and The Black Cod

The Miso Black Cod with Aromatique Vegetables and Black Truffle Dashi is a superb dish in true Michael Mina style, an elegant presentation with dashi poured at the table.

Black cod is glazed with a miso-based marinade. The fish has a delicate, buttery texture and rich umami flavor. It is broiled to perfection and the result is a beautifully caramelized exterior with a slightly crispy texture and a lusciously moist and flaky interior. The sweet and savory miso glaze not only enhances the natural sweetness of the black cod but also imparts a unique depth of flavor to the dish.

Black Cod, Black Truffle Dashi

Black truffle dashi adds a layer of sophistication, a heady aroma, and a sumptuous touch. The dish showcases the culinary artistry of balancing flavors and textures while highlighting the natural qualities of the black cod.

Michael Mina Restaurant and My Black Cod Recipe

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Fried Prawns with Candied Walnuts, Inspired by Wing Lei-Las Vegas

🦐 Fried Prawns with Creamy Calamansi Sauce 🦐
Date Syrup Candied Walnuts with Chinese Five Spice

Wing Lei is the first Chinese restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin star – serving Cantonese, Shanghai and Szechuan flavors, and featuring tableside-carved Imperial Peking duck.

The meaning of the Chinese characters that represent Wing Lei, is twofold: not only does it mean “forever prosperous” but it also represents “Wynn” itself, the luxury Las Vegas resort and casino. All the menu items are priced ending in 88 cents. Representing prosperity and completeness, the number 88 is especially popular in Chinese culture because of the double eights but also because of its visual similarity to the sign for double happiness 囍.

Places are set with two sets of chopsticks per person. Black chopsticks are used to take food from mutual dishes to one’s plate. White ones are meant to carry food to one’s mouth.

We recently enjoyed an extraordinary meal at Wing Lei, celebrating my nephew’s 21st birthday. The service and ambiance were impeccable, the food sublime. One of our favorite dishes was Fried Prawns, I re-create my version here.

Fried Prawns with Candied Walnuts, Inspired by Wing Lei

Fried Prawns Recipe

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Cod, Caviar, Champagne Sauce à la Joël Robuchon

🌺 Cod, Caviar, Champagne Sauce 🌺
à la L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Sooner or later the question was bound to be asked, “What is your favorite restaurant in Las Vegas?” So many great chefs, so many fabulous restaurants… But after much consideration, I chose L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand for several reasons. With 31 stars, he is The Most Awarded Michelin-Star Chef in the World.

But surprisingly far from being stuffy, L’Atelier is fun! As one would expect, the French-inspired dishes are second to none. Each one prepared with the exactness the Chef became known for, his relentless perfectionism; he famously said there is no such thing as the perfect meal – one can always do better.

With that black & red decor, intentionally designed to be the opposite of old-style French white & gold, the atmosphere is striking and modern. The service is simultaneously easy-going and top-notch. Wines are meticulously paired to elevate the entire dining experience. A seat at the counter often results in a genial and lively evening. Strangers become friends, there is a gregariousness in shared appreciation of the late Chef’s vision of stellar dishes, prepared in view of the guests, offered in a spirit of conviviality.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

In 2003, the first L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon opened its doors in Paris, in the 7th arrondissement, and simultaneously in Tokyo. The success of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris encouraged Joël Robuchon to develop its concept all over the world. The Las Vegas restaurant opened in 2005, followed by New York, London and Hong Kong, Taipei and many more.

Here, I re-create an exquisite dish and table setting from our most recent meal at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – Cod with Caviar and Champagne Sauce.

Cod, Caviar, Champagne Sauce à la Joël Robuchon

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Las Vegas

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Picasso’s Scallop, Potato Mousseline, Jus de Veau

Still Life with Fruit Dish and Yellow Vase by Pablo Picasso — The Original Still Life with Fruit Dish and Yellow Vase at The Bellagio by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Re-Creating Picasso Restaurant
At The Bellagio, Las Vegas

If you’ve been following Taste With The Eyes for a while, you know that I love to re-create dishes. Not just the food but the entire experience, including the ambience right down to the china, glass, and silver.

One of my most cherished creative outlets is to re-create historical events through food. The most popular by far is the re-enactment of Julia Child’s first meal in France in 1948 including her recipe for Sole Meunière.

Another favorite is the reimagining Julia’s kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts where we sneak a peek at her kitchen table with husband Paul as they enjoy a light supper that begins with Vichyssoise on a hot August night.

Our evening at Picasso Restaurant by Chef Julian Serrano in Las Vegas was worthy of re-creating. We had a fantastic meal where we enjoyed several fabulous courses, were awed by the ambiance and artwork, and thoroughly impressed by the service.

The Chef’s menu is drawn from his own background in the regional cuisines of Spain and France, and in honor of Pablo Picasso’s Spanish heritage and years the master artist spent living in France.

The Day Boat Scallop, Potato Mousseline, Jus de Veau course was especially captivating for its diminutive yet powerful presentation, combination of flavors and textures, and quality. If a restaurant is serving only one scallop, it had better be perfect!

Picasso's Scallop, Potato Mousseline, Jus de Veau — Taste With The Eyes Re-Creation of Picasso’s Scallop Course

icasso Restaurant, Bellagio, Las Vegas

Picasso’s Scallop Recipe

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Cabillaud aux Asperges

Cabillaud aux Asperges (Cod with Asparagus)

🌿🌼🌿 Cabillaud aux Asperges 🌿🌼🌿
(Cod with Asparagus)
Asparagus Cream Sauce, Balsamic Reduction

This lovely fish and asparagus dish was inspired by one of several fabulous courses we enjoyed at Picasso Restaurant by Chef Julian Serrano in Las Vegas.

The Chef’s menu is drawn from his own background in the regional cuisines of Spain and France, and in honor of Pablo Picasso’s Spanish heritage and years the master artist spent living in France.

The fish course was particularly memorable for its simplicity, harmony, and quality. A beautiful fillet of seared Chilean Sea Bass sat on a raft of perfectly cooked asparagus spears, covered with a light blanket of sauce hollandaise. The brilliant element of the dish was the Chef’s addition of a balsamic reduction, which juxtaposed intense sweet and tangy notes with the rich fish and buttery sauce.

For my version, I serve a pan-seared Wild Alaska Pacific Cod with its pleasant, slightly sweet, mild clean taste and lean flaky texture. And here, hollandaise is replaced by an Asparagus Cream Sauce made from the surplus of my Asparagus Soup for a delightful springtime dish.

Cabillaud aux Asperges (Cod with Asparagus)